Remembering the residents we lost to COVID-19

It’s been over two years since the world first heard of an infectious virus that originated in Wuhan, Hubei Province in China. Since then, COVID-19 swiftly made its way to the United States, to California and then to Sonoma County where, according to the latest virus information from the county, 478 residents have died.

We asked our readers to share a snapshot of the lives those residents lived and how they will be remembered. The stories below have been submitted from family members and taken from Press Democrat stories.

Marylou Armer, 43, of American Canyon

Detective Marylou Armer, 43, died March 31, 2020, at Kaiser Permanente’s Vallejo Medical Center, where she had been hospitalized, tested positive for the coronavirus and placed in a medically induced coma in the days leading up to her death. The veteran Santa Rosa police officer’s death is marked as the first from the fast-moving disease in a Sonoma County law enforcement agency. Armer was also the first Napa County resident to die from COVID-19.

Armer lived in American Canyon. She had served in the Santa Rosa Police Department for more than 20 years, Santa Rosa Police Chief Ray Navarro said in a statement.

“I was so proud of her,” said Deborah Campana, Armer’s childhood friend, “She had a good heart and was a person with strong personal, ethical and moral values, which the department recognized.”

— By Nashelly Chavez from a story published July 8, 2021.

Jose Hermosillo, 66, of Santa Rosa

Jose Hermosillo, 66, died May 3, 2020, from complications of COVID-19 after nearly a week of almost complete isolation at Kaiser Medical Center in Santa Rosa, said his son, also Jose Hermosillo. He had developed pneumonia and ultimately succumbed to acute respiratory distress, according to the sheriff coroner’s office.

He was a beloved friend, father and grandfather. He retired after a nearly four decade career with Fulton Processors, later called Fulton Valley Farm, a longtime Sonoma County chicken slaughterhouse.

“My dad was a hard worker, a great, great man,” Manuel Hermosillo said. “Everybody that knew my dad loved him ... he would have lived a lot longer.”

— By Julie Johnson from a story published July 11, 2020.

Antonio Higareda, 53, of Windsor

My father-in-law Antonio Higareda fought for three weeks on a ventilator before passing July 2, 2020, at only 53 years old.

His death shattered our entire family and all his friends.

He was a landscaper assigned to Friends House Retirement home and he was so loved by the residents. When he died the residents put together a memory book of him and made generous donations to our family.

He was a dad to many, not just to his three kids, and he was a proud grandpa to his only grandson, Elias. He loved Elias so much so that even when he was fighting on the ventilator, his oxygen levels would rise when he would hear his voice. His family was number one to him. So much so that he didn’t have any hobbies and every single minute of his free time was spent with his family.

So many people will tell you he was the greatest man, husband and dad they’ve ever met.

He immigrated to the U.S.A. when he was a newlywed and worked so incredibly hard, often seven days a week, to give his kids everything. He would take his kids everywhere. Disneyland every year, snow trips, road trips and camping were among the many trips he would work so hard to save up for. He and my mother- in-law had just finished building their home in Mexico after many years of slowing saving and building. He never got to enjoy his home.

We honor him and miss him everyday

— Melissa Higareda, daughter-in-law to Antonio Higareda

Becky Blair, 64, of Santa Rosa

Becky Blair grew up on Leo Drive in Santa Rosa’s Roseland neighborhood with her parents, John and Patricia Blair, her two sisters and three brothers.

“She was the typical’ baby of the family,’ one of her older sisters, Michelle Blair-Weeks, said with fondness. ”She was allowed a few more freedoms than the rest of us were.“

She graduated from Santa Rosa High School 1974 and eventually found her footing in the assembly department at Hewlett-Packard in Santa Rosa, operations that eventually shifted over to Agilent Technologies.

She was hospitalized mid-July for an infection and was later diagnosed with COVID-19. She died Aug. 1, 2020, at age 64.

— By Julie Johnson from a story published July 12, 2020.

Virginia Bruno, 94, of Sebastopol

Virginia Bruno, 94, died on Aug, 12, 2020, while in hospice care with declining health and dementia at Primrose Post-Acute skilled nursing facility in Santa Rosa when she contracted COVID-19.

Born in 1926, Virginia Bruno grew up on the Palos Verdes peninsula between Los Angeles and Long Beach at a time when horse pastures and farmland were still signature features of the landscape and abalone were plentiful in the waters off Catalina Island.

She graduated from UC Berkeley and earned advanced degrees in zoology, ecology and library science from the University of Michigan and Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles in an era when there were obstacles for women seeking a higher education.

She married Gordon Bruno after the pair met while she taught middle school science. They raised five sons near Silverlake in Los Angeles and then lived in San Luis Obispo before moving to Sebastopol in the 1980s.

Bruno was both intrepid, traveling across the globe even late in life, and deeply devoted to family.

“She tried to impart that in all of us,” said one of her sons, Lee Bruno of San Francisco. “Follow the things you’re passionate about. Try to make a difference.”

— By Julie Johnson from a story published July 12, 2020.

Otoniel Azañon Alvarado, 48, of Petaluma

A Petaluma resident, master deck builder and father of four, Otoniel Azañon Alvarado died Aug. 31, 2020, at age 48 at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital after a nearly six-week battle with COVID-19.

Born in 1971, Azañon Alvarado grew up in Retalhuleu on Guatemala’s west coast. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at a university and worked on appliances for businesses, plus countless electrical repair favors for neighbors. He left his native country to seek new opportunity in California as a young father in the mid-1990s.

He did electrical work and other manual labor jobs until he found his niche as a skilled carpenter. For more than a dozen years, he worked for Sebastopol-based Deckmaster Fine Decks, mentoring his sons to match his precision and dedication to timeliness.

“If it was raining, he’d get it done,” said his eldest daughter, Noemi Azañon of Petaluma. “He was a hardhead. He wanted it to be done and it needed to be done on time.”

— By Julie Johnson from a story published July 12, 2020.

Ron Bennett, 74, of Cloverdale

Wine tasting resulted in our retirement home in Cloverdale. We retired in 2012 and traveled! It was magic after working for forty plus years in each of our corporate industries. Then after nine years came the COVID-19 scare and shutdown of eight months; we did our exercise walks in masks and kept to ourselves. My husband, Ron Bennett, of 34 years, got dizzy and fell four times. He was taken to the hospital in November 2020 and died there in December. Thank goodness, the hospital allowed me to spend his last day with him for which I will forever be grateful.

Ron was the love of my life.

He was born a twin in Ohio and an avid Steelers fan. He spent four years in the Navy after being drafted for Vietnam. He had one son and two grandsons from a previous marriage, but was adopted by my two sons and my granddaughter giving him the title of “Grumpy Grandpa.”

Ron was an avid reader and loved his mysteries. He kayaked, developed a green-thumb starting his own garden and began guitar lessons (which included starting a collection of guitars). He suffered through my academy award dinners and started teaching me the finer points of football. We tried new and old local restaurants. Most of the time, he would don his Tommy Bahamas shirts and tennis shoes, flattering me as “his beautiful wife,” even at 74 years old. He was the master at setting up a Christmas tree and adding lights. He loved joke gifts, especially if they were musical.

As he wished, he was scattered at sea as soon as COVID-19 allowed. He is missed and our family is still recovering. On my right shoulder, I have a tattoo. It reads, “MY ALWAYS.”

— Linda Bennett, wife of Ron Bennett

Phillip Mink, 74, and Barbara Mink, 75, of Santa Rosa

In one room was former pastor Phillip Mink, 74, a cheerful and goofy soul who led Bible studies at Stony Point Christian Fellowship. Mink was an all around fixture in the community and a devoted volunteer. He died Oct. 28, 2020 at Kaiser Permanente hospital in Santa Rosa, in the COVID-19 ward.

In the next room was his wife, Barbara Mink, 75. A behind-the-scenes matriarch, she raised their children with a love for their Christian faith, ensuring they woke up each weekday at 6 a.m. for family devotions. She died Oct 30, 2020 at the same hospital.

The Minks would star their day with song, prayer and a reading from the Bible. On many mornings, the scent of pizza hung in the air as Barbara baked lunch for the kids to take to school, daily fare that made the other kids jealous.

Barbara was born in 1944 in St. Louis to Hazel and Irvin Crocker. Phillip was born in Gary, Indiana, in 1945 to Betty and Robert Mink.

They met at Life Bible College in Los Angeles, now called Life Pacific University, a seminal institution for the Foursquare Christian church, an evangelical Pentecostal denomination founded in the 1920s.

The Minks arrived in Santa Rosa from San Jose in the early 1980s when Phillip was brought on as pastor of what was then called the Neighborhood Foursquare Church on Middle Rincon Road. The couple and their three children moved into the church parsonage.

They kept their family immersed in church activities. When Phillip left his pastoral post, he was often leading activities or volunteering to ensure things worked, from men’s groups to Easter and the weeklong summer Vacation Bible School for children.

— By Julie Johnson from a story published March 27, 2021.

Sonja Mink, 52, of Santa Rosa

The daughter of Phillip and Barbara Mink died the same day as her mother and two days after her father. And like her parents, Sonja Mink, 52, died at Kaiser Permanente hospital in Santa Rosa, in the COVID-19 ward.

Her love for children shone when she led the children’s service for their church and worked managing preschools, was in a third hospital room. She studied early childhood education at Life Bible College in Los Angeles and finished her degree at Santa Rosa Junior College. She worked at Little Ones Children Center in Santa Rosa and the Little Ones Backyard Club in Rohnert Park, then shifted careers and worked in customer service for Farmers and State Farm insurance companies.

“We love them and we miss them terribly, and we wish that didn’t have to happen,” said Sandra Greenley, daughter to Phillip and Barbara, sister to Sonja. “Love all the people you got.”

— By Julie Johnson from a story published March 27, 2021.

William “Bill” Haugan, 73, of Guerneville

William “Bill” Haugan got COVID-19 in late November and died Dec. 15, 2020. Bill was a County of Sonoma retiree, working in the computer department as well as several others. I am also retired from the County, working at Regional Parks as a maintenance supervisor.

Bill and I first came to Sonoma County to buy, in Guerneville, Highlands Resort in 1980. After selling the resort, Bill and I had a landscape company, Green Spot, and the nursery, Larkfield's Nursery and Gifts, in both Santa Rosa and Guerneville. Bill was 73 when he died.

— Stephen R. Rickabaugh, partner of Bill Haugan

Paul Erickson, 77, of Santa Rosa

Paul Erickson, a happily transplanted New Yorker who sank roots in Sonoma County more than 40 years ago and whose fascination with politics led him to twice run for Congress, has died.

Erickson died Jan. 19, 2021 after suffering heart failure while undergoing treatment for COVID-19. He was 77.

Paul L. Erickson was born Aug. 11, 1943, in the village of Cedarhurst on New York State’s Long Island. His interest in politics showed itself early on. He was a student officer in grade school and was elected student body president at Lycoming College in Pennsylvania, where he earned a degree in economics in 1965.

At age 23, in early 1967, Erickson was drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to Vietnam. Upon his honorable discharge in the summer of 1968, he returned to New York and went to work as a claims representative for Aetna Casualty.

He moved a short time later to real estate sales, and in 1972 opened his own real estate office in New York City.

Lara Erickson said her father visited California in 1975 and was keen to see Santa Rosa because he’d caught glimpses of it in the 1943 Alfred Hitchcock film, “Shadow of a Doubt.” He liked what he saw of Sonoma County’s redwoods and rivers, beaches, hills and other attributes.

“He was a loud, funny, jovial man,” she said. She added that in addition to all that her dad did in business and politics, he sang with verve and “was an incredible piano player. He never looked at sheet music.”

— By Chris Smith from a story published Feb. 9, 2021.

Carol Peters, 72, of Cotati

On February 10, 2021, my mom, Carol Peters lost her fight to COVID.

In November 2020, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Then on December 9, 2020, she had a mastectomy and she was healing well from her surgery when she got COVID-19 in mid-January. She had been at Kaiser Permanente hospital in Santa Rosa for about 2 weeks before she passed.

At first, it seemed like she was getting better, but a few days before she passed, the hospital called and said she had taken a turn for the worse and they were transferring her to the ICU. The doctor called me the next day and told me that the damage that had been done to her lungs was so extensive and irreversible that she would never be able to breathe without life support. Our family was shocked and heartbroken. My mom was 72 years old, but she was one tough cookie. She was often mistaken for being 20 years younger. She left this world with purple hair, long purple fingernails, and her whole entire body covered in vibrant tattoos that told a story of her life and her loved ones. She made friends wherever she went, whether it be the vet’s office, the cell phone store or the grocery store. She was just such a friendly, social and warm person.

She lived in Cotati with her 5 little dogs who were like her children. She was a mother to 4 children, myself, and my brothers Dan, Joe and Terry. She loved her 7 grandchildren beyond measure, and they all enjoyed coming over to “Nona’s” house for weekend sleepovers often.

She will be missed more than I could ever describe.

— Kelli Altamirano, daughter of Carol Peters

Danny Rizzo, 47, of Santa Rosa

Danny Rizzo, a big-spirited coach booming commands for situps, pushups or burpees. You have to work hard if you want to be a champion and he trained them at the Danny Rizzo Pro Boxing Gym on Santa Rosa Avenue.

Rizzo died Feb. 22, 2021, at Kaiser Santa Rosa Medical Center after a nearly three-week battle with COVID-19, his family said. He was 47.

Rizzo dreamed about finding a champion to represent Santa Rosa in the ring, but would die before he could fulfill that mission.

He was born in 1973 in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. His parents were Alberto Rizzo and Jilma Alvarado. The exact details of his childhood vary depending on who is recounting his stories — but boxing is a constant. He started training at around 7 years old, cleaning shoes to earn his place at the gym. One of his heroes was the 1960s Nicaraguan boxing champion Alexis Argüello. Rizzo came to the United States when he was about 12, joining his mother who was already living in San Rafael, according to his first wife, Jackie Alvarado, 46, of Santa Rosa.

“He was very strict. He wanted everything right, and he would correct you,” Deborah Alvarado, 30, of Santa Rosa said of her father’s coaching style. “He loved to joke around, that’s for sure. That’s what I’m going to miss about him.“

— By Julie Johnson from a story published March 13, 2021.

Eduardo “Eddie” Lepe, 51, of Santa Rosa

Eduardo “Eddie” Lepe, beloved owner of Lepe’s Taqueria in Santa Rosa, died Aug. 1, 2021, at UCSF Hospital due to complications from the coronavirus at 51.

His many friends and family members remember him as a coach, mentor, jokester and father who loved being around people and providing a gathering place for his friends and large family.

“He just loved talking and being with people. Any baby who would come in, he would want to hold. He just lit up the room every time he walked in,” Marco Lepe said of the Bennett Valley taqueria his brother operated for 26 years.

The youngest of five children, Lepe was a passionate sports lover who played soccer at El Molino High School. He coached Santa Rosa youth basketball, Rincon Valley little league baseball teams and his son Mateo’s traveling baseball and fall ball teams.

— By Heather Irwin from a story published Aug. 2, 2020.

Laurel Gurney, 91, of Santa Rosa

Laurel Gurney was my mother. She lived for 91 years, until COVID-19 took her life in January 2022. She got the virus while a resident at a local nursing home.

Born in Boston in September of 1930, she lived in Massachusetts until 1996, when she and my dad moved to Florida. When my dad, Joe, her husband of 60 years, died in 2013 she relocated to Santa Rosa and took up residence in independent living in Vineyard Commons, now known as Solstice Senior Living at Santa Rosa.

She was extremely sociable and was always properly dressed (“a real lady” as one of her fellow residents called her). She was an avid collector and seller of antiques — our house was filled with them! She was a highly skilled bridge player who played weekly for decades, and a poker-loving card shark. She was also an artist who sold many of her watercolor on rice paper paintings. Mom was outspoken, happy to share her opinion whether you wanted it or not! Most of all, she was a caring, loving person, a great mom and a true friend. She had many, many friends; all them and her family miss her very much.

— Sheri Lefman, daughter of Laurel Gurney